Cacao Brownies Bites with a Orange Blossom Mascarpone Frosting

These decadent Cacao Brownies Bites are subtly sweet yet extra chocolatey courtesy of the cacao powder and chocolate chunks. The orange blossom mascarpone frosting is an eye-rolling experience and it brings a nice balance to these delectable bites.

I have been working on this recipe for quite some time now and I am really happy with the result. As I have mentioned before, I had a blood test and found out that I have a wheat allergy. I don’t have celiac but something called GIS Gluten Inflammatory Syndrome. I wasn’t exactly sure what were the symptoms of a wheat allergy but I have had severe back, hip and leg pain for many years and I thought it was arthritis. I now found that my wheat has been the culprit by experimenting with cutting out certain foods. I have ultimately cut out wheat from my diet and have felt a lot better for it but I do cheat every now and then when Robby bakes his amazing sourdough bread!

So, I have now been on a mission to create dessert recipes using alternative flours. I have also been experimenting with alternatives to eggs, refined sugar, xanthan gum and baking powder. This has been no easy task because there are so few recipes out there that accomplish this goal. There are plenty of gluten-free and/or vegan recipes but most of them use pre-packaged gluten free flour or they use eggs. Needless to say, I have had to do some serious experimentation. And actually, it has been a lot of fun!

Brownies Bites Recipe:

24 bites

1 Stick Organic Butter – melted

1 Tablespoon Maple Syrup

3 Tablespoons Ground Chia Seeds

7 Tablespoons Filtered Water

1/4 Cup Millet Flour

1/4 Cup Teff Flour

1/4 Cup White Rice Flour + extra for muffin pan

1/4 Cup + 1 Tablespoon Cacao Powder

1/2 Teaspoon Agar Agar Powder (not flakes)

1/4 Teaspoon Pink Himalayan or Sea Salt

3/4 Cup +2 Tablespoons Coconut Sugar

2 to 3 Oz. 60% or 70% Cacao Chocolate Chips or a Bar cut into chunks

Orange Blossom Mascarpone Frosting Recipe:

8 oz Mascarpone – room temperature

1/4 Cup Whipping Cream – room temperature

1/2 Cup Powdered Pure Cane Sugar

2 Tablespoon Orange Blossom Water

Or

Sugar-free Orange Blossom Mascarpone Frosting Recipe:

12 oz Mascarpone Cheese – room temperature

1/2 Cup Whipping Cream – room temperature

5 Packets of Wholesome Stevia or to taste

2 Tablespoon Orange Blossom Water

Instructions:

Lightly oil your mini muffin pan with olive oil and sprinkle lightly with white rice flour. Turn the pan sideways and move around in circles so the flour coats all sides. Set aside

Chocolate

For chocolate bar:

Cut it into about 1/2 inch pieces. Set aside.

For chips:

On low heat, melt half of the chocolate chips in a double boiler or in a bowl fit snug onto another bowl with water in it. When completely melted, stir in the remaining chips until melted.

You can put it back on the stove for a minute if they aren’t melting enough. Spread the chocolate onto a parchment lined cookie sheet about a 1/4 inch thick.

Place it in the refrigerator for about 15 minutes. Cut it into about 1/2 inch pieces. Set aside.

Brownie batter

Place a cookie sheet inside of the oven on the middle rack and then preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a small pan, melt the butter over low heat.

In a medium size bowl, add flours, cacao powder, agar and salt. Whisk together making sure to disperse all the clumps of cacao powder. Set aside.

Add the water to a small bowl and quickly whisk in the ground chia. Continue to stir until it starts to pull away from the bowl. Set aside.

When the butter is melted, remove from heat and stir in the maple syrup. Next, stir the melted butter into the dry ingredients. Thoroughly stir in the chia egg and then mix in the sugar until completely incorporated!.

With a spoon, scoop out some dough to form a small ball then place them in the prepared muffin pan and tap them down a bit to flatten. Press in a chunk of chocolate vertical in the center of each brownie.

I use a kitchen scale so I know exactly how much to add but you can wing it if you don’t have one. I grab a little dough and I weigh them at 20 grams then toss them in my palms to form a smooth ball.

Place the muffin pan onto the cookie sheet and bake for 12 to 14 minutes. When they are finished baking, transfer to a wire rack and let them cool completely.

Frosting

In a bowl of an electric mixer, combine the mascarpone, cream, sugar and orange blossom water.

With the paddle attachment on, turn onto medium speed until smooth. Don’t overbeat or the frosting will be waxy. I like my frosting to be more on the soft side but that is up to you.

Scoop the frosting into a pastry bag with your choice of tip. I used a basic star tip. Squeeze the frosting out around the outside edge and circle around towards the center and then pull up. Or serve the frosting alongside the brownie bites.

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Notes

* The dough will be really moist yet you will still be able to roll it into balls.

*It might seem counterintuitive to add the sugar at the end but it produces a different consistency to the dough that I found works the best.

* If you are using a scale, make sure to check it when you remove a dough ball to see that it is still on 0 as you weigh them. They will leave a little dough on the scale and it might start to weigh it.

*If your frosting curdles, put the mixer bowl over a large pot of water on medium low heat and stir until it smoothes out then put the bowl back on the stand and continue to whip.

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Cacao Brownies Bites with a Orange Blossom Mascarpone Frosting was last modified: October 2nd, 2017 by STEPH